At 40% DNF for me… I’m not sure if it was a me issue or a book issue. I didn’t realize going into this that the book had the podcast element. I am not a fan of mystery/thrillers that revolve around a podcast. I probably sure have research more into this before accepting the ARC. It was easy to read but I got to a point where it just didn’t interest me any longer. Thanks Netgally and St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for a honest review ❤️

Agnes has come to Iceland from California. She is staying with Nora Carter who is doing a true crime investigation into Agnes’ grandfather who was accused of killing his wife and young daughter 40 years ago. He said he was innocent and then fled the country with his son Marcus. Marcus married and had a daughter named Agnes. Agnes loved her grandfather very much and does not believe this kind man could have killed as he had been accused. Thus, she has journeyed to Iceland to join Nora’s investigation.

While there, another young woman goes missing and the town is thrown into chaos as they search for her. Nora gets into the investigation as well. Agnes herself is still suffering the pain of a terrible accident that nearly destroyed her leg. Getting hooked on opioids for the pain has made her girlfriend leave her. She has been living with her father for some time as he helps her. They have never had a good relationship.

Oh dear. This book did nothing for me. It seems to be rehashed over and over with sketchy characters. The descriptions of the cold made me shiver. I feel like a book that is repetitive and slow to build is just something I don’t want to read.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

My first five-star thriller of 2025: The Lost House by Melissa Larsen!

Immediately after finishing, I wondered what exactly I loved about this book but as is the case sometimes, it's not the one thing that worked so well - it's everything! With dark undertones and a mysterious plot, I was simply held captive by this story!

I had a love-hate relationship with main character Agnes; I was amazed by her tenacity, put off by her (almost) naivety, felt for her during times of need and related to her in a way I still can't pinpoint. Her character worked so perfectly within the confines of this story, and her personality somehow helped shape the harsh atmosphere of this Icelandic-based thriller.

I'm a sucker for alternative media within a book, and it's even better when their addition adds to the overall atmosphere of the audiobook! True crime podcast snippets from "The End" are full production value and instantly create the tone for this book! Set to chilling music and with appropriate sound effects, this chapter is sure to send shivers down your spine!

Saskia Maarleveld's voice was the perfect pairing for this addictive and atmospheric book! Her voice added this breathiness to the story, deepening the chilling effect Laren's words already captured. I'm not even sure my description will even make sense, but Maarleveld effortlessly created such an airy gust, complimenting the vast tundra within the story. Perfect narrator choice!

I want to call this a Nordic noir, but it seems just slightly adjacent to that sub-genre, not quite touching the police/investigator aspect in typical fashion... but the bones that make up this type of thriller are all there! This book is cold, dark, chilling and atmospheric; it's realistic and real-world based; it's gripping, immersive and disturbing.

In short: add this to your winter TBR right away!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

CONTENT WARNING: grief, death of a loved one (off-page), murder, death of a child, suicide attempt

I’ve read a little bit of Scandinavian noir, and it’s a wonderful new world of books to read. I’m not really familiar with anything about Iceland other than it is beautiful, you can see the Northern Lights, and a bunch of my friends have gone there. Hearing that this book is a thriller set in a remote part of Iceland caught my attention, and I had to request it. Luckily, the gods of NetGalley were working in my favor.

To start with, the writing is fantastic. The remote and isolated town outside of Reykjavik was so wonderfully described that it felt like I needed to bundle up to read this. The landscape is harsh and stark, and it’s set during winter, so the characters are also facing a very snowy environment, and it quickly becomes clear that this isn’t like the snow we get here—it’s the kind where it’s nearly impossible to walk in, and simply being outside in the super cold temperatures can be fatal.

“The emptiness of the land seduces you into believing that you are alone, you are anonymous, when in fact it only makes you that much more exposed.”

Agnes is a tough character to like, and her morally gray tendencies explain why. She was the kind of person who I constantly wanted to shake some sense into, but at the same time, I could empathize with her. After a devastating accident last year, she became disabled, and that disability takes over her life. This is especially problematic for her because participating in physically active hobbies for fun and as a coping skill for the stresses of her life. Even more so because she is one of the small population of people who develop a substance use disorder as a result of the painkillers she was prescribed after multiple surgeries. Even the way she ruminates both on her physical pain and the next painkiller she can take felt realistic, and it’s clear that she is using that to avoid the emotional pain that she’s in, after losing her beloved grandfather, experiencing a breakup of a serious relationship, and the guilt that she carries over her accident and the consequences she faces for the rest of her life. The only thing that was missing was an obsessive counting of how many pills she has left, although the constant fight between taking a pill and getting clean is present throughout the book.

“Sitting in one set position for the past fourteen hours has sent her back to the early days of her recovery, when her worldview had contracted down to her left leg, and only her left leg.”

The disability and addiction representation in this book is done really well. I could really identify with Agnes on this level, as someone who also had a chronic illness that impairs my mobility. Just reading about the treks that Agnes made had me feeling like those descriptions could apply to me as well. Mental note: If I ever go to Iceland, make sure to stay close to the cities.

“Agnes struggles to keep up with his long stride. Each step is a debt owed to her body, unable to be repaid.”

“It’s not enough, not nearly enough, to ease her cravings. Just enough, she tells herself, to be a person.”

The story is told almost exclusively from the POV of Agnes, with the exception of a prologue chapter that is told in third person. I really enjoyed getting to learn about what happened during the two mysteries—one that happened 40 years ago and led her grandfather and father to flee to California, and then one in the present day, involving the disappearance of a college student in the town. There are some concerning similarities between the two cases, and Agnes happens to get caught up in both as she arrives in Bifröst to meet up with a true crime podcaster, Nora, who is doing a special show about the Frozen Madonna cold case on its fortieth anniversary.

As Agnes makes her way around the town that her father was born in, she learns more about how they lived, the people who lived nearby, and the legacy left behind. Agnes had an extremely close relationship with her grandfather, while her father seems more aloof. However, her grandfather and father wouldn’t ever discuss anything that happened before they arrived in California. She grew up with no real knowledge of her paternal side’s family history, and her mother wasn’t in the picture. Having only known the sweet, loving, caring, and thoughtful grandfather, she arrives in Iceland convinced that she could help exonerate her grandfather of the murders by proving his innocence. In the process, she unwittingly finds herself involved in the disappearance of the college student on the annual party at what has become known as ‘the Murder House.’

It causes friction between her and her father, Magnús, because he doesn’t want her, or anyone else, to dig into their family history. But Agnes starts out the story at a personal low, and works her way through moire than just her family background in Iceland. She shows an impressive amount of personal growth, even while making bad choices. At least she learns from her mistakes, and makes different ones the next time. While this has the potential to seem repetitive, as someone who was able-bodied for decades. Fun fact: I was on the fencing team in both high school and college. I’ve experienced the grief associated with losing mobility all at once, and her fixation on her pain and pills could seem overdone to someone who hasn’t experienced this, but all of this is incredibly realistic. The way that her emotions are only starting to come out now that she’s trying to stop using but is still taking just enough to stave off the worst of the pain and the cravings.

“Because this isn’t just grief tearing her apart. There’s anger, too. Anger at her father. She’s come all this way to help her grandfather, to reconnect with him after his death, and her father hates her for it.”

I loved the idea of a hauntingly barren landscape featuring lava fields, with forest encroaching on the town. The remoteness of the location and how it is so cut off because of the winter weather made this entire small town with the illusion of privacy into a locked-room mystery that hopefully isn’t a murder, while racing against time and the Arctic cold to find the missing girl. Obviously Nora gets wrapped up in the investigation, as does Agnes. There’s so much character development in Agnes, while we see Nora’s tough exterior as well as her vulnerable side.

Set against a backdrop of stunning natural beauty, the dual timeline mysteries are fascinating to see unravel, and although I guessed the culprit of one of the crimes, the other surprised me. There were some really good plot twists that I didn’t see coming at all, and some that I spotted relatively early, but it was such an immersive story that I was hooked from start to finish. Pacing is wonderfully done, offering little bits of information that constant change the direction of the story as the characters discover it, and keeping readers invested in both storylines by creating some tenuous links between the crimes. This fast-paced mystery kept me on the edge of my seat as the characters crept closer to the resolution of both a cold case that has taken on almost a cult-like following in true crime circles, and a present-day mystery that is gradually taking on a new importance to Agnes. Overall, this was done wonderfully, and I can’t wait to check out her other book, and see what she does in the future. I recommend this if you like mysteries, Scandinavian noir or settings, super atmospheric books that are so exciting it almost feels like claustrophobia kicks in as the full story becomes apparent, a mystery lead who has a disability that she doesn’t allow to hold her back anymore, and both historical and present day mysteries rolled into one messy scene.

I finished THE LOST HOUSE by MELISSA LARSON today — eagerly gobbling up this atmospheric mystery.

With its chilly (and chilling) Icelandic setting + past and present mysteries + a true crime podcast element — I was in from the minute I heard about this book. I love a complicated past + a complicated present + challenging family dynamics + dark characters.

Agnes arrives in Iceland to investigate a gruesome murder in her family & to clear her grandfather’s name. Forty years ago a young mother is found buried in the snow, with her infant daughter. They looked peaceful. But upon closer inspection they find the woman’s throat was slashed and the infant drowned.

The case was never solved. But that didn’t stop suspicion from falling to Agnes’s grandfather. He left Iceland for California, intent on starting over. But the town never forgot.

Now, true crime expert Nora Carver invites Agnes to be interviewed for her upcoming podcast which is set on solving the mystery. Booking a one-way ticket to Bifröst, Iceland, Agnes is happy for the excuse to escape her own life and to find the truth.

But when a local girl goes missing, the town is once again shattered. And as Nora and Agnes investigate both mysteries they find everyone is a suspect. And someone is intent on making sure old secrets stay buried.

This book was so incredibly tense and atmospheric. I really enjoyed the unfolding of both mysteries and the characters were so well drawn. I could feel the emotion, the desperation and the pain as they all navigated their way through the story. A lot of complicated grief here woven into an excellent mystery.

Huge thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley. Excited to get a physical copy for my trophy shelf!

This was the perfect winter mystery! The author described Iceland in such an atmospheric way and the character development was such an integral part of the story. I enjoyed the podcast and interviews aspect of the plot as well.

This book was okay! Was hit or miss for me at times. I would be bored then get back into it. Maybe it was a mood thing!

Forty years ago, university professor Einar Pálsson and his nine-year-old son Magnus left their hometown of Bifröst, Iceland for the United States after the gruesome murder of his twenty-six-year-old wife local schoolteacher, Marie and their six-month-old daughter, Agnes. Though he was never formally charged with the murders, friends and neighbors were convinced of his guilt. Forty years after the murders Agnes Glin, Einar’s twenty-seven-year-old granddaughter arrives in Iceland hoping to clear her late grandfather’s name. As the fortieth anniversary of the murders approaches True Crime podcaster Nora Carver has decided to feature “The Frozen Madonna case” and is happy to have secured Agnes’s participation. Agnes has been struggling with an injury and the grief of losing her dear grandfather one year ago and hopes to find out more about the case and her family history. Growing up the events that transpired in Iceland were rarely mentioned and she has to rely on existing records and the memories of those who knew her parents (most of whom remain convinced of Einar’s guilt) to piece together what happened all those years ago and unravel the mystery behind the unsolved murders. Locals maintained a bizarre fascination with the case of “the Frozen Madonna and Child ” and the “Bifröst Murder House” (Agnes’s family home) which has been kept in its original state by the new owner. Complicating matters further is the fact that a young university student was reported missing after attending a party at the same venue.

Could there be a connection between the events of the past and the disappearance of the young girl? Is the true murderer still at large? How dependable are the recollections of those who knew the family? Will Agnes find what she is looking for, and if so, at what cost to her own well-being?

Atmospheric and intriguing, The Lost House by Melissa Larsen is a well-crafted mystery that will keep you hooked until the very last page. The author does a brilliant job of setting the scene, with vivid descriptions of the icy landscape and the family home, transporting you to Iceland with Agnes. The narrative is presented, for the most part from Agnes’s perspective and follows her as she braves the icy weather, struggles with her own opioid addiction and tries to get to the truth behind the murders of her grandmother and aunt. The pace is on the slower side, but this works for the book, contributing to the atmospheric and suspenseful tone and allowing us to get to know the characters. Most of the past events are presented as recollections of the family’s friends and neighbors and while not all can be trusted , I thought the author does a great job of establishing the possible suspects and motives in this manner. The present-day mystery is comparatively more straightforward but cleverly crafted. The author does a skillful job of weaving the different threads of the novel into an absorbing narrative and I liked how the subplots converge as the truth is revealed. The author strikes a perfect balance between the plot-driven and character-driven elements of the novel. It was heartening to see Agnes’s faith in the innocence of the man who helped raise her and the author has depicted Agnes’s inner dilemma and how she faces her own demons in the process of revisiting her family history. A running theme in this novel is how true crime is sensationalized, often at a great emotional cost to those who are personally affected by the same. There were a few moments and revelations toward the end that felt a tad rushed, but overall, I found this novel to be a gripping read and was invested in Agnes's journey.

This was my first time reading this author and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.


Many thanks to St. Martin's Press /Minotaur Books for the digital ARC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Agnes Glin returns to her grandfather’s homeland in Iceland to find out the truth on the murder of his wife and their child.drowned . Together they were found frozen along a river. Her grandfather fled with his son (Agnes father) to California where he was never convicted of the murders. Agnes has only known her loving grandfather and does believe that he is innocent. Her return takes place 40 years later. In response to an offer from a passionate true crime podcaster Nora Carver. Agnes’ has agreed to be interviewed about this unsolved murder. She has also accepted staying with Nora as she works to solve the case. But upon her arrival another woman has gone missing. A party that took place on the property of the original murders, is where the missing woman is believed to have disappeared from. Are these two cases related?

With its measured pace, psychological depth, and vivid portraits of people and places, the author’s atmospheric thriller resembles Nordic noir, though the author is American. The combination of hard-charging Nora and skittish Agnes adds tension in a twisty murder that is full of surprises. It is a whodunit with effective undertones of menace.

I usually love Minotaur titles, but this one is just not for me. It's got too much of a Girl on the Train vibe, with a main character dealing with an addiction, in this case opioids following a severe accident. The constant complaints about the pain, the actual injuries themselves, and the will-I/won't-I battle over taking pain medication wears on my nerves. It's just not a trope that I tolerate well. It distracts and detracts from the mystery itself, so much so that I could not finish the book. I got about 1/4th of the way through it and then jumped to the last 10% or so for the solution.

As for the writing itself, I can't fault it technically. The ending seems to make sense with what I've read so far, but also somewhat predictable. There also seems to be some silly, contrived events used to get to the ultimate solution and it honestly makes me glad I didn't invest the time to read the entire thing.

To summarize, it's not bad, it's just not for me. If you like books with characters with messy personal lives, then it might be for you.

I loved the setting and premise of this book, many of the scenes about the true crime podcast were well done and engaging. Unfortunately I found the book a bit of a slog to get through and I think it’s because it was trying to do too much, which really messed with the pacing. Ended ip getting an audio version and listened on 2x speed. (Audio was well done, just needed to speed it up to keep interest with pacing)

It’s as much a coming-of-age book (with a big focus on diverse sexual orientation) as it is a mystery - so sometimes it felt like I was suspending my reading of a mystery to read a different book. I think if you’re looking for a coming of age book which delves into complex family dynamics and the impacts of family secrets, then this would be a good fit.

I don’t know if this is a new trend or just a strange coincidence, but The Lost House is the 3rd or 4th book I’ve read in the last year or so that is based in Iceland. I’d never read anything by Melissa Larsen before but the premise of the book intrigued me. As previous mentioned, the story is set in Iceland and is a slow burn mystery/thriller as Agnes travels to Iceland to join a true crime podcaster (another trend I have noticed and enjoyed in recent years) to dig into her family’s past and a horrific murder. I would say for the most part Larsen delivers quite an engaging tale. Interesting characters (especially Agnes) and a gripping story. My only real complaint is a the pacing. I don’t think it need to be quite as slow a burn as it was, the middle moves a little slower than I’d have liked and I felt with a little work it could have been trimmed a bit and been a tighter story. But as the book is only 350 or so pages that complaint may just be a bit of nitpicking on my part. I’d like to thank St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of The Lost House.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1Q3T6A9QPOBIS/ref=pe_123899240_1043597390_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

The Lost House suspense thriller set in Iceland definitely had my interest. Unfortunately, I had difficulty moving through a slow plot with a unlikable protagonist, Agnes Glin. Agnes accepts an invitation to go to Iceland and meet with a Podcaster to try to clear her grandfather's name of two unresolved homicides.
What happens in Iceland was slow and tedious reading for me. The atmospheric setting was descriptive and beautifully written, but somehow more of a hindrance to the chatacters. I think of the plot was tightened up, it would improve the pace of the book. Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

I enjoyed the atmosphere of this one. Snowy, isolated. A mystery in the past, one in the present. A stuffing narrator. It makes for a good story.

One thing that bugs me is about the phone. We never got an answer about why someone still had it.

I would have liked to see more between Agnes and Nora at the end. Sometimes it feels like once the mystery is solved, there’s a rush to end things.

Closer to 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC. I wanted to love it, but wound up more liking it. Agnes has been haunted by a crime in her family that her beloved grandfather was accused of doing. She accepts a trip to Iceland (where he grew up) with a well known true crime podcaster. Her goal is to prove her grandfather innocent of this crime that has hung over her family for so long.
I enjoyed the atmospheric setting of Iceland- the snow, cold, ice, and other worldliness of it contributes to a good experience for the reader. Agnes seemed to run around like a chicken with her head cut off a little too much for me. The continual experience of her winding up woefully unprepared while out in the cold was mildly vexing. The plot was a little long throughout much of the book, and then seemed rushed towards the end.
However, I liked the idea of the story, and I enjoyed how the time moved from modern day to back when the crime happened- letting us see things through Mia’s grandmother’s point of view too. The inclusion of a podcaster, Nora Carver, who isn’t there for the same goals as Agnes was a nice wrinkle too.
I think it is a suspenseful read, but I wouldn’t call it a must read.

Thank you, Minotaur Books and NetGalley, for my eARC of The Lost House by Melissa Larsen. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

3.5-3.75
This book was a ride, that's for sure. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it. I wouldn't necessarily call this a thriller; this was more of a family drama exploring a cold case of a double murder and in the meantime they're also looking into a disappearance.

This book was very atmospheric and that added to the read. At parts it was slow and I wasn't feeling it. But then as the mystery kicked up and I got more invested again. There were a number of twists in this that kept me wondering where this was going to go, and I can say I didn't see the ending coming.

I recommend this one if you're into slow-burn mysteries, atmospheric reads, Nordic Noir, or family sagas.
Thanks Minotaur!

The Lost House is not a psychological thriller, but it contains earmarks of one. The writing is very atmospheric – the story takes place in Iceland in the winter months, and the author very much sets the stage for cold and dark so that a dark chill is ever present as you read. There are secrets within secrets in this little Icelandic town. Almost no one is exactly as they seem, including protagonist Agnes.

I will admit that I found Agnes wholly self-absorbed and difficult to like. It’s a struggle to warm up to this character, but that feels deliberate on the author’s part. The reader gains some insight into Agnes as the book goes along, and events that transpire in the book itself do set her on a path that seems, by the book’s conclusion, to be leading toward greater maturity. Of the entire cast of characters, the most sympathetic is Nora, who is a pivotal character but not the main protagonist. The remainder are much like the land itself – unfamiliar and vaguely threatening, even when not actively hostile – which, again, feels deliberate on the author’s part.

I can’t say that there are a lot of unexpected twists here, but I’m not sure there are supposed to be. The entire book feels as though the reader is supposed to know something the characters themselves have yet to learn, so it is entirely unsurprising when you’ve figured out what actually happened well before Agnes does.Not everything is revealed to the reader; enough is left unclear that as the story nears the end and the climax unfolds, it keeps your interest.

I’m not generally a fan of atmospheric thrillers. It’s for this reason that authors like Jo Nesbo leave me cold (pun fully intended). But The Lost House combines fast pacing and a noir atmosphere that manages to hook and keep your attention and it’s an absorbing read.

3.8⭐️

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am leaving a voluntary review.

When you read THE LOST HOUSE, set in the harsh Icelandic winter, you'll feel like you're right there in the chilling landscape. Make sure you have a cup of hot chocolate right next to you for this one!

The book is about Agnes Glin and her trip to Bifröst to take part in Nora Carver’s true crime podcast; she is working on a 40-year-old cold case involving the murder of Agnes’ grandmother and newborn aunt. At the time, suspicion fell on her grandfather committed the murders, and Agnes hopes this is not true.

THE LOST HOUSE is a small-town drama with decades-old rumors and secrets exposed. Despite its slow pace, the storyline is designed to keep you guessing, captivated by the mystery surrounding the unsolved murder and the current missing girl from the same area. All the loose ends tie up very cleanly at the end, leaving you with a sense of satisfaction. I highly recommend it to anybody who likes to read Nordic Noir.

I thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review. And, of course, a big thank you to Melissa Larsen for writing a delightful read!

The Lost House is a family driven mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat. As we follow Agnes on the journey to clear her grandfather's name, we are taken on a journey of self discovery and mystery. Agnes finds herself questioning what she knows about herself, her family and it's history. The journey we go on in Iceland has many twists and turns, bringing readers layers of mystery. I also enjoyed reading this one with my own Thor (my dog) since there was a character named Thor too!

The Lost House is a thriller that tells about a haunting family Legacy with the chilling backdrop of Iceland's unforgiving winter landscape. The book follows Agnes, who is struggling with the death of her grandfather along with his controversial past and the unresolved murder that has cast a shadow over her family for decades. the beginning starts with the gruesome historical mystery, forty years ago, a mother and her infant daughter were found buried in the snow, their deaths were surround in suspension and unanswered questions. The husband was excelled from Iceland when he became the main suspected so he fled to California with his son, however the case was never solved. Now after the death of her grandfather Agnes returns to Iceland with the intentions of clearing her grandfather's name and confronting the dark legacy that has haunted her family. So with the help of a true crime podcaster, Nora, they will be delve deep into the mystery in order to dig up clues about what happened that tragic dark day. However, with the sudden disappearance of a local girl from the house of the past mudered duo it adds a sense of urgency to solve their crime and find the missing girl. While the pacing of the book is strong in area there are moments where the book feels extremely drawn out. Melissa Larsen has crafted a story that is both haunting and thought-provoking, so if you are looking for a book that keeps you guessing this is the book for you.